Wild Fish Health, Oil Sands Region

Wild fish health data (length, weight, gonad size etc.) are now available for trout perch collected from the Athabasca, Peace River and Clearwater Rivers; white sucker collected from the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers; longnose sucker collected from the Peace River; slimy sculpin collected from tributaries east of the mainstem Athabasca River, as well as Tar River; lake chub collected from tributaries west of the mainstem Athabasca, as well as Alice Creek; longnose dace from the Mackay River; and northern pike collected from the Clearwater River. Contaminants data available for walleye collected from the Athabasca and Peace Rivers. For each of these data sets, upstream reference areas are provided for comparison to downstream developed sites. Reference data are currently being evaluated for variability between years to develop triggers, and these triggers are essential to eventually quantify potential effects at exposed sites. Using existing critical effect sizes developed in the Environmental Effects Monitoring programs for pulp and paper and metal mining effluents, condition endpoints in white sucker were increased within the deposit. Slimy sculpin condition and reproductive endpoints are also exceeding effect sizes downstream of development sites. This data is now being used to predict future fish health endpoints within sites, between sites and relative to reference variability to help assess change in fish health.

Supplemental Information

Supporting Projects:

Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Monitoring